Machine vises



S p 15, 1959 J. SELBY 2,903,931

' MACHINE VISES I Filed Nov. 21 1956 4 s t s t 1 Jk/ rss 5548! B [74w m firz-omvers J. SELBY MACHINE VISES Sept. 15, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 21, 1956 flrrokusrs Sept. 15, 1959 J. SELBY 2,903,931

MACHINE VISES Filed Nov. 21, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG.3

IN VFA/TOR .727/155 Sszar flrroR/virs Sept. 15, 1959 I J. SELBY MACHINE VISES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov; '21, 1956 flrro mvsrs United States Patent MACHINE VISES James Selby, Pinner, England, assignor to Clarence Hugo Frye, Kings Langley, England, and B. Elliott & Company Limited, London, England, a British company Application November 21, 1956, Serial No. 623,656

Claims priority, application Great Britain November 22, 1955 11 Claims. (CI. 81-33) This invention relates to machine vises, and has for its object the provision of improvements in machine Vises. The invention consists broadly of a machine vise comprising a base having a surface which will be assumed horizontal and carrying, at one end of said surface, one jaw of the vise, and a relatively movable member mounted on said surface and carrying the other jaw at its end towards said one jaw, said movable member being slid able along said surface, for bringing said other jaw into and out of engagement with said one jaw, by virtue of slots formed through said surface to the underside of said base with their ends remote from said one jaw closed, and ribs or tenons on said movable member slidably engaging in said slots, wherein the profile of saidribs or tenons is such that only relatively short lug portions thereof extend through said slots to enable said movable member to be maintained down by means at the lower ends of said lug portions, and wherein said surface is formed with keyway extensions beyond said closed ends of said slots for receiving the portions of said tenons beyond said lug portions, whereby the sliding range of said movable member may be only a relatively small amount less than the length of the slots.

In order that the invention may be the more clearly understood a machine vise in accordance therewith will now be described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a sectional elevation of said machine vise taken on line 11 of Fig. 2,

Figure 2 is a plan of the same,

Figure 3 is an under plan of the same,

Figure 4 is a cross section on line 44 of Figure 1,

Figure 5 is a cross section on line 55 of Figure l, V

Figure 6 is an end elevation of said machine vise looking from the right of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings the fixed member of the vise comprises an oblong base 1 formed at one end, say the lefthand end, with an upstanding abutment 2 which carries a fixed jaw 3 with the gripping surface of said fixed jaw vertical and facing towards the right. A moving member 4 of the vise is also oblong, though shorter than the fixed member, and is mounted longitudinally on the base 1 so as to be slidable longitudinally thereof. Said moving member 4 carries a moving jaw 5 of the vise at its left hand with its gripping surface vertical and facing towards the left, so that, as said moving member 4 is moved to the left, the moving jaw approaches the fixed jaw for gripping the workpiece between said jaws. Said workpiece will ordinarily be resting on the base 1 of the fixed member.

For slidably mounting said moving member 4 on said base 1 said fixed member is formed with a concavity 6 in its under surface, and is provided with two parallel longitudinal slots 7 cut through it from its upper surface into said concavity 6, and said moving member is formed on its underside with two integral ribs or tenons 8 which pass down through said slots 7 and, at their outer surfaces, make a sliding fit with said slots. Said moving member 4 is held down on said fixed member by means of a keep plate 9 secured by screws 10 onto the underside of the tenons 8 and passing transversely across them, and it will be seen that said concavity 6 provides space for said keep plate.

For effecting the movement of said moving member 4, the same is formed between the tenons 8, with a deep longitudinal concavity 11 in its under surface, which extends from end to end of said moving member, and the base 1 is formed on its upper surface, between the slots 7 with an upstanding boss 12 which is within said longitudinal concavity 11. A longitudinal lead screw 13 passes through said boss 12 in screwed relation with a removable bush l4 fixed in said boss, and said lead screw 13 has a non-screwed portion which is journaled in a bearing member 15 secured by means of screws 16 (Figure 6) to the end of the moving member 4 remote from the jaws. Collars 17 and 18 prevent relative longitudinal movement between said lead screw 13 and said bearing member 15, and therefore between said lead screw 13 and said moving member 4. At its right-hand end, said lead screw 13 has an extension 19 which projects beyond the bearing member 15, and this extension is adapted to be connected to a source of power. It will be seen that, by rotating said lead screw 13 in one or other direction said moving member 4 is slid, in one or other direction, relative to said fixed member 1, 2.

In the present arrangement, it will be seen from Figure 1, that the tenons 8 are given a profile shape such that, for the major part of their length, they are so shallow that they do not pass right through the slots 7. Only relatively short lug portions at the left-hand end of said tenons 8 are sufficiently deep to pass right through said slots 7, and the keep plate 9, which is secured to these lug portions, is also correspondingly short. The shallow portions of the tenons 8 extend far enough through the slots 7 to form an effective guide for the moving member 4. When the moving member 4 is at the left-hand end of its stroke, as shown in Figure 1, and the jaws 3, 5 are therefore fully closed, the lug portions of the tenons 8 will be at the left hand end of the slots 7, and when said moving member 4 is at the right-hand end of its stroke and the jaws are open to the maximum extent, said lug portions of said tenons 8 will be at the right hand end of the slots 7. At this .position the shallow portions of the tenons 8 are accommodated by keyways 20 which. extend rightwards beyond the ends of the slots 7. Said keyways 20 break out at the righthand end of the base 1, and, at the fully open position of the vise, the shallow portions of the tenons 8 project beyond the rear end of said base 1.

By making only the short lug portions of the tenons 8 to project right through the slots 7, it is possible to make the slots, and hence the base 1 shorter, and thus a reduction in weight and cost is gained, and moreover, a stronger and more rigid base 1 is obtained.

It will be seen that the aforesaid boss 12 on the base 1 is substantially fully enclosed by the moving member 4, together with the bearing member 15, and so also is the whole of the screw-threaded portion of the lead screw 13. The screw parts are thus all protected from swarf. When the jaws, 3, 5 are closed said boss 12 will of course, be at the right-hand end of the concavity 11 in said moving member 4, and when said jaws are fully opened said boss will be at the left-hand end.

The aforesaid slots 7 are formed from above by a milling cutter and therefore have curved inclined ends as indicated in Figure 1. The profile of the tenons 8 is also made to conform roughly to these inclined ends of the slots, in that the lug portions have inclined end edges.

The underneath concavity 6 of the base 1 is formed so that it can be machined by one pass of a circular face mill, and in construction, such milling operation is performed with the moving member 4 in position on the base 1, so that, with shims in place, between said moving member and said base, the keep-plate facings on the tenons 8 are machined at the same time as the underneath concavity. Subsequent assembly, with the shims omitted, provides the correct working clearance without recourse to fitting.

For fixing said removable bush 14 in the aforesaid boss 12 on the base 1, said bush is provided with a fine external screw thread whereby it is screwed into a correspondingly tapped hole in said boss, whereafter it is secured by means of a grub screw.

The base 1 is formed with end notches 21 and side notches 22 so that it can be fixedly held down by screws on a given surface. To enable it to be rotatably mounted on a fixed swivel base, the semi-circular left hand end of the cavity 6 is countersunk as shown at 23 to accommodate a raised circular bearing portion on said swivel base. This allows said base 1 to rotate about a vertical axis. To hold said base 1 down upon said fixed swivel base, the lower ends of bolts which pass down through the notches 22 have enlarged heads and engage in a circular slot of inverted T section formed in the surface of said swivel base, and the upper screw-threaded ends of said bolts have nuts screwed on them which bear down on the surface of the base 1.

The movement of the moving member 4 is not necessarily effected by means of a lead screw, but could be effected hydraulically or pneumatically or by cam means or other suitable means.

I claim:

1. A machine vise comprising a base having a horizontal surface portion, a first jaw stationarily supported at one end of said surface portion, a second jaw, a member supporting said second jaw, guide means guiding said member slidahly relative to said surface portion during movement of the second jaw into and out of coaction with said first jaw, said guide means including ribs depending from said slidable member and slots extending through said surface portion of the base to the underside thereof and slidahly engaged by said ribs, the end of each slot distal of said first jaw being closed, each of said ribs having a comparatively long but shallow portion extending only partly through the depth of the slots and a comparatively short but deep lug portion contiguous to said long portion and protruding from the slots at the underside of the base and retaining means secured to the protruding lug portions for tying said slidable member to the base, saidsurface portion including keyway extensions at and in alignment with the closed end of each slot for receiving the long shallow rib portions whereby the sliding range of said member is only slightly less than the length of said slots, and drive means drivingly coupled with said slidable member for moving said member and with it said second jaw toward and away from said first jaw.

2. A machine vise comprising, in combination, a base having a horizontal surface portion, a first jaw stationarily supported at one end of said surface portion, a second jaw, a member supporting said second jaw, guide means guiding said member for sliding movement relative to said surface portion for moving said second jaw relative to said first jaw, said guide means including ribs depending from said member and slots defined by said surface portion of said base slidably receiving said ribs, the distal end of each slot relative to said first jaw being closed, each one of said ribs comprising a long shallow portion extending partially into said slots and a short, deep lug portion integral with said long shallow portion protruding from said slots and the under side of said base, retaining means connected to the lower ends of said lug portions securing said member against removal of said base, said surface portion including keyway extensicns at and in alignment with the closed end of each said slot for receiving said long shallow rib portions for sliding movement through substantially the entire length of said slots, and screw means independent of said long and shallow portions drivingly coupled to said member for moving said member and said second jaw relative to said first jaw.

3. A machine vise according to claim 2 wherein said retaining means comprise a common keep plate secured across the end faces of said protruding lug portions, said keep plate being short in the sense longitudinally of said slots and ribs.

4. A machine vise according to claim 2 wherein said screw means comprise an internally threaded portion secured to the base and an externally threaded portion on said slidable member, said threaded portions being in mesh whereby rotation of said slidable member effects said movement of the second jaw relative to said first aw.

5. A machine vise according to claim 2, wherein both ends of the slots are curved and inclined, and said lug portions have inclined end edges which roughly correspond to the inclined ends of the slots.

6. A machine vise, according to claim 2, wherein the underside of said base beneath said surface portion is hollowed out whereby a space is formed which accommodates said retaining means at the protruding ends of said lug positions.

7. A machine vise according to claim 2, wherein the sliding of said member along said surface is effected by means of a longitudinal lead screw, and said member is formed between the ribs with a deep longitudinal cavity in its under surface, and said base is formed with an upstanding boss between the slots which is enclosed within said cavity, and wherein said lead screw is in screwed engagement within a tapped hole through said boss and is coupled to said member so as to be incapable of longitudinal movement relative thereto.

8. A machine vise according to claim 7, wherein an internally screwed removable bush is secured in said tapped hole.

9. A machine vise according to claim 7, wherein a nonscrewed portion of said lead screw is journalled in a bearing member secured to the end of said slidable member remote from the jaws, end thrust means being provided to prevent longitudinal movement of said lead screw relative to said bearing member.

10. A machine vise according to claim 9, wherein said lead screw has an extension which projects beyond said bearing member and is adapted to be connected to a source of power.

11. A machine vise comprising, in combination a base having a horizontal surface portion, a first jaw stationarily supported at one end of said surface portion, a second jaw, a member supporting said second jaw, guide means guiding said member for sliding movement relative to said surface portion for moving said second jaw relative to said first jaw, said guide means including a rib depending from said member and a slot defined by said surface portion of said base slidably receiving said rib, the distal end of said slot relative to said first jaw being closed, said rib comprising a long and shallow portion extending partially into said slot, and a short, deep lug portion integral with said long shallow portion protruding from said slot and the underside of said base, retaining means References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Cummer Oct. 27, 1914 Condon et al. Nov. 21, 1944 Scheiler Apr. 3, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Sept. 23, 1953 

